PRIME submitted photos
By Mark G. Auerbach
Special to PRIME
“A Wonderful Life”
Bedford Falls comes alive as never before with the Goodspeed Musicals premiere of the musical based on the classic film, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” With music by Joe Raposo and book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (“Fiddler on The Roof,” “Fiorello,” and “She Loves Me”), this new musical is perfect holiday fare. Parker Esse, who provided the sizzling dances for Berkshire Theatre Group’s “Bells Are Ringing,” is choreographer. Performances: Sep. 18 to Nov. 29. For tickets: 860-873-8668 or www.goodspeed.org
David Sedaris
David Sedaris, author of bestsellers “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim,” “Let’s Talk Diabetes With Owls,” and a regular New England Public Radio contributor, appears at Northampton’s Academy of Music Theatre on Oct.13. Sedaris offers selections of all-new readings and recollections, as well as a Q&A session and post-show book signing. New England Public Radio presents his area appearance. For details: www.davidsedarislive.com.
Dianne Reeves
The award-winning jazz stylist Dianne Reeves brings her “Beautiful Life” tour to the UMass Fine Arts Center Concert Hall for one performance on Oct. 30. “Beautiful Life” won the 2015 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. She offers new works, and covers of Marvin Gaye, Ani DiFranco, Bob Marley and more. For tickets: 800-999-UMASS, 413-545-2511 or www.fineartscenter.com/
The Five College New Music Festival
New to the Valley, the Five College New Music Festival (Sept.11 to 13) brings a series of performances to Bezanson Recital Hall on the UMass/Amherst campus. The Festival includes world premieres, music by Five College faculty composers, and pieces by modern masters of the 20th and 21st centuries. All programs are free. For details: www.5cnmf.com/
“Holy Laughter”
WAM Theatre is a unique Western Massachusetts institution, dedicated to presenting theatre for everyone that benefits women and girls. They seek out women artists, and give a percentage of their box-office receipts to non-profits that provide services to women and girls. This year, they’re supporting Hands In Outreach and Sister for Peace in Nepal, a program that provides support to families and children. Catherine Trieschmann’s comedy “Holy Laughter” gets a fall production (Oct. 29 to Nov. 22 at Pittsfield’s Barrington Stage’s Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center). Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, it’s the story of an Episcopal priest who must adapt her lessons from seminary to deal with her ever-changing congregation. For tickets: 413-236-8888 or www.wamtheatre.com.
The Homecoming
Eric Hill stages Harold Pinter’s Tony Award winner, “The Homecoming” at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre (Oct. 1 to 25). In this taut tale of an American expatriate who brings his wife back to North London to meet his family, it’s tense drama with multi-layered language, and a perfect vehicle for Hill, whose stagings of “Thoreau or Return to Walden” and “Poe” have been theatre at its best. Rocco Sisto stars. For tickets: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
The Laramie Project
Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project’s bold dramatization of the brutal Matthew Shepard murder and its impact on the townspeople of Laramie, Wyoming, opens the Connecticut Repertory Theatre season (Oct. 8 to 18). This is a powerhouse of a play that explores homophobia in a small town, the depths of humanity, and the heights of compassion. For details: 860-486-2113 or www.crt.uconn.edu.
“Newsies”
If you saw “Kinky Boots” at The Bushnell or “La Cage Aux Folles” at Goodspeed this summer, you know that Harvey Fierstein can write a laugh-filled, sentimental, tight script for any musical. “Newsies,” his adaptation of the Disney movie, with a Tony Award-winning score by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, plays The Bushnell Oct. 13 to 18, after a successful Broadway run and national tour. Christopher Gatelli’s choreography is breathtaking. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, “Newsies” is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenage ‘newsies’ who strike for what’s right. For tickets: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org.
Rear Window
Remember the Alfred Hitchcock thriller? A wheelchair-bound guy watches his neighbors and imagines he sees a murder? Playwright Keith Reddin has adapted Cornell Wollrich’s short story of the same name, which inspired Hitchcock, into a stage play that has its world premiere (Oct. 22 to Nov. 15) at Hartford Stage, directed by its Tony Award winning Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak. "I'm a big fan of both Cornell Woolrich's stories and Keith Reddin's plays. And I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this smart, terse, and timely adaptation of a classic suspense story," Tresnjak said. For tickets: 860-527-5151. or www.hartfordstage.org
Springfield Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Bergeron, Principal Trumpeter player with the Springfield Symphony and a South Hadley native, plays Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E Flat in his first solo performance with the Orchestra (Nov. 7 at Symphony Hall). Maestro Kevin Rhodes conducts, and also gives a pre-performance talk. The program includes Handel’s Royal Fireworks Music, Copland’s Quiet City and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39. For tickets: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org
Keep in Mind...
The Seth Show brings nationally touring solo performer Seth Lepore back to Eastworks in Easthampton on the first Tuesday of every month. His theme this season: “A Year To Live.” Flavorpill calls him “Part Friedrich Nietzsche and part Jim Carrey, Lepore is sharp and challenging and funny.” For details, www.sethums.com.
The Majestic Theater in West Springfield opens its fall season with Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire” beginning Sept. 10. For details on this and their upcoming season: www.majestictheater.com/
The Capitol Steps play Symphony Hall on Nov. 20. Even if you missed them this summer at Cranwell in Lenox, there have been enough politicians and world leaders making blunders to provide enough material for music and laughs. For tickets: 413-788-7033 or www.citystage.symphonyhall.com.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
